Flowers on Main (12 page)

“My knees were knocking,” Bree admitted.

Megan squeezed her hand. “I could tell, but you looked amazing. I’d never seen you look so confident and happy.” Her expression turned somber. “How did you lose that confidence, Bree? What happened?”

She was about to blame it on the reception given to the last two plays, but she knew better. For reasons she didn’t entirely understand, Marty had started to undermine her at every turn, but she didn’t want to dwell on that right now.

Changing the subject, she asked, “Did the family know you were there at the first play? That’s the only one they were all able to get to.”

“No. As I said, it was your night. I didn’t want to be a distraction. I flew back to New York right after the play ended.”

“I wish I’d known,” Bree said.

“You wish that
now,
” Megan said insightfully. “You wouldn’t have felt that way then or even a couple of hours ago. And that’s okay. We’re making progress, you and me. At least I hope we are.”

“Maybe we are,” Bree conceded.

Megan met her gaze. “This reconciliation business won’t
be easy or smooth. We may fight. We may fall down. The important thing is that we both keep trying. Can you do that?”

Bree gave the question the thought it deserved, then nodded. “I want to.”

“Then we will, because I want that more than anything, too.”

“Maybe you should stay at the house after all.”

To her surprise, Megan shook her head. “No, I think going to Abby’s will be for the best. We’re going to need some space at first. So will your father and I.”

“Do you think the two of you will…”

“Reconcile?” Megan supplied. “It’s much too soon to tell. To be honest, that will be a whole lot trickier than mending fences with you and your brothers and sisters. I don’t want to push it by staying at the house.”

“Are you just trying to prove to me how wise you are?”

“Either that or I’m admitting that I’ve missed Carrie and Caitlyn like crazy and can’t wait to spend some time with them.”

“I think I’ll go with the whole wisdom thing,” Bree said. “Otherwise, I’d have to admit that I’m halfway jealous of a couple of five-year-olds.”

Megan reached for her hand. “You don’t have to be. There’s always been room in my heart for all of you.”

For the first time in fifteen long years, Bree actually believed that.

W
ith a spring in his step, Mick walked into the kitchen at home at the end of the day and looked around for some sign of his ex-wife. He’d been anticipating this moment ever since she’d appeared at Bree’s shop, wondering how it would feel to find her waiting here the way she’d always been before he’d gone and ruined their marriage. Unfortunately, she was nowhere in sight. There was only his mother wearing a scowl on her face.

“Where’s Megan?” he asked Nell.

“Haven’t seen her,” his mother said as she set dishes on the table with a vaguely disgruntled thump. “Though I did hear through the grapevine that she’s in town.”

Mick nodded, ignoring the testy tone in her voice. “She turned up at the shop earlier, then she and Bree went off together. Given the way Bree greeted her, I figured Megan would be back here long before now, most likely alone.”

“Well, I haven’t seen them. Maybe they’re over at the inn. Will she be staying there the way she did last time?”

Mick shrugged. “Beats me. As soon as I’ve had a shower, I’ll take a walk over there and check things out. Is there time before dinner?”

“Since nobody’s bothered checking in with me, I suppose
we’ll have dinner whenever anyone turns up,” Nell said, clearly miffed. “You might as well take your time.”

Mick realized that ignoring his mother’s mood wasn’t accomplishing anything. She evidently had something on her mind. He studied her intently for a moment, then asked, “Is there a problem, Ma?”

“Problem? No problem other than the way people come and go around here without the slightest bit of consideration.”

He frowned. “Is this about Megan showing up unexpectedly?”

“No, it’s about all of you. I spend my afternoons these days trying to decide what to cook and once I’ve decided that, then I have to take a guess about how many people I might be feeding. I thought I raised the whole lot of you better than that.”

Mick finally grasped the problem. She was feeling unappreciated and taken for granted. He couldn’t say he blamed her.

“You did raise us to be more considerate,” he assured her. “And you’re right, we’ve all been taking you for granted. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I’ll see to it.”

“You?” she said incredulously. “You’re no better than your children.”

“Again, sorry,” he said. It still amazed him how this diminutive woman could reduce him to feeling like a six-year-old with a few scolding words.

Just then the screen door burst open and was allowed to slam closed as Carrie and Caitlyn came running into the kitchen. “Where’s Grandma Megan?” Carrie demanded.

“That seems to be the question of the hour,” Nell replied tartly as Abby followed her daughters into the kitchen. “Are the three of you staying for dinner? Was I supposed to know that?”

Mick grinned as Abby tried to decide how to respond to Gram’s obviously sour mood.

Eventually Abby put her arms around Gram and gave her a hug. “You don’t have to feed us. We just came by to pick Mom up and take her over to our place.”

“Well, you wasted a trip,” Gram told her. “She’s not here and I haven’t seen her, so you might as well take a seat. We’re having potato soup and pot roast.”

Abby gave Mick a quizzical look. He shrugged.

“Gram, why don’t you pour yourself a cup of tea and relax,” Abby suggested. “I can take over in here. Just tell me what’s left to do.”

“The soup’s on the stove and the pot roast is in the oven,” Nell replied. “There’s nothing left to do except wait to see who shows up.”

Mick saw the moment when understanding dawned for Abby. She sent the twins outside to play, then made sure her grandmother sat down with her tea.

“Gram, I’m sorry if we’ve been treating your kitchen like a restaurant where we think we can pop in anytime,” she apologized.

“I told her we were all going to start being more considerate,” Mick said.

“Absolutely,” Abby replied.

Nell’s cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of pink. “I’m sorry for making such a fuss.” She put her hand atop Abby’s. “You know you’re welcome here anytime, all of you. I love having those girls of yours underfoot. I’ve missed them since you moved into the new house with Trace.”

“I’ll make sure you see them more often,” Abby promised. “But I’ll schedule the visits ahead of time.”

Mick hadn’t thought it possible, but his mother looked even guiltier and more embarrassed.

“Ma, is something else the matter?”

“To tell you the truth, I feel like an old fool, complaining about everyone popping in here. This is your home. You have every right to come here whenever you please.”

Suddenly, in a rare moment of insight, it dawned on Mick what was really upsetting her and it had little to do with tonight’s dinner or who might unexpectedly pop in for the meal. “You’re worrying about Megan coming back here and taking over, aren’t you?”

She didn’t deny it. “No home can withstand having two women thinking they’re in charge,” she said. “If you and Megan reconcile, then she has every right to expect to run things around here her way. And I still have my cottage. I can go back there.”

Struck by the real dismay in her voice, Mick sat down next to her. “Ma, Megan and I are a long way from reconciling. And if that time does come, you’d never be displaced around here. Surely, you know that. It’s your home as much as it is mine. If you want to go back to your cottage, that’s your decision, but please don’t do it because you think you won’t be welcome here.”

“Gram, you belong here,” Abby agreed. “This will always be your home.”

“But Megan will have her own ideas,” she argued.

Mick didn’t want to make light of her fears, but there was one thing he knew about his ex-wife that had apparently escaped Nell. “Ma, Megan has about as much interest in running a household as I do. Trust me, she’ll be more than happy to let you stay in charge of this place, if that’s what you want to do.” He gave her a pointed look. “But you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Not even I can see that far into the future yet and you know what an optimist I tend to be when I set my mind to something.”

He realized Abby was staring at him.

“You’re courting Mom? I mean, I know you’ve been seeing her, but it’s getting serious?”

He felt his face turn red. “I wouldn’t call it courting her, exactly. I popped in to see her in New York a couple of weeks ago. We had dinner. We didn’t smash dishes over each other’s head. That’s the most positive thing I can say about the evening.”

Abby’s expression turned thoughtful. “And now she’s here for an unexpected visit. Interesting. Where is she now?”

“She’s with Bree,” Mick said. “I thought they’d be back by now. Call your sister and see if they stopped by the inn.”

Abby reached for the phone just as Jess appeared…alone.

“Well, they’re obviously not at the inn with Jess,” Mick said.

“Mom and Bree?” Jess asked. “They’re missing?”

“They’re not missing,” Mick said. “They’re just not back from Myrtle Creek. Why don’t the two of you help Gram set the table. Stay for dinner. I’ll run up and grab a quick shower.”

Abby gave him a knowing look. “So you’ll look all spiffy when Mom gets here?”

“So I won’t smell like sawdust and sweat,” Mick retorted.

For a moment he stood there watching two of his girls as they pitched in to help his mother get a meal on the table. It reminded him of all the family meals they’d shared through the years…and all the ones he’d missed. The bickering, the chatter, the laughter, it was all so familiar. Why hadn’t he appreciated it enough when he’d had it? How could he have let business keep him away so often when moments like this were the only thing that truly mattered?

At first he’d deluded himself that chasing jobs all over the country was something he was doing for his family, providing them with everything they could possibly need. Then, when Megan had made it clear that she cared more about him
than money, he still hadn’t gotten the message. He’d bristled at what he’d viewed as an ultimatum, his pride had kicked in and he’d let her slip away.

After that, the house had felt empty, despite five children underfoot, so he’d stayed away to avoid that awful sense of loneliness. He wasn’t sure which was worse, feeling abandoned or the accompanying guilt because he’d known that the divorce was his fault since he hadn’t tried to work out a compromise. All he’d cared about was that it was easier to bear losing Megan when he was far away and swamped with work. Having his mother there looking after the kids had eased his conscience.

He was still thinking about all that as he showered and dressed in crisply pressed pants and a clean dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He patted on aftershave, then grimaced at his reflection in the mirror. Abby was going to have a field day when she caught a whiff of that scent. Oh well, he supposed he could take a little good-natured teasing from his oldest daughter. It was more important to make a good impression on Megan.

To his dismay, she still wasn’t there when he returned to the kitchen. Everyone else was seated at the table, evidently waiting for him. Caitlyn and Carrie bounced impatiently in their chairs.

“Grandpa Mick, we didn’t think you’d ever get here,” Carrie told him.

“We’re really, really hungry,” Caitlyn added. “We
love
Gram’s pot roast.”

“Sorry, angels. You all could have started without me.” He put his napkin in his lap, then frowned when he realized there were no extra place settings. “Bree and Megan still not back?”

“Bree called. They decided to stop at Brady’s for dinner,” Abby said, watching him intently for any hint of a reaction.

“Good for them,” he said. “They can use the time together.
I’m hoping it will be good for Bree to have her mother here to confide in.”

“Nice try, Dad, but I can tell you’re disappointed,” Abby said.

“Now, why would I be disappointed about that? Didn’t I go to New York to convince Megan that Bree needed her?”

Now it was Jess regarding him with an odd look, the same look Abby had had on her face earlier. “You went to New York?”

“And it had little enough to do with Bree,” Gram commented, giving him a pitying look.

“Of course it was about Bree,” he insisted.

“Really?” his mother said. “And after the visit, you stayed in touch with her to make sure she’d know what was going on with your daughter?”

He flushed at that. “Well, no.”

“Because you were miffed that your ploy hadn’t worked and Megan didn’t rush right down here with you,” Nell guessed.

“Ma, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled. “Megan’s here now, isn’t she?”

“Because she called and talked to Bree for herself and realized how serious things were.”

“She’s here for Bree,” he said tightly. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

“Which doesn’t explain the dress shirt and the aftershave,” Abby teased.

“Maybe I have plans for after dinner,” he said.

“With Mom?” Jess asked, studying him curiously. “Am I the only one who’s not sure what’s going on with you two?”

“Oh, I think we can all agree on what Dad wants,” Abby said. “Mom’s the wild card.”

Mick frowned at her. “Would you give it a rest?” He made a show of looking at his watch. “I’m running late. You’ll have to excuse me.”

All three women stared at him.

“You’re leaving in the middle of dinner?” Nell asked. “You’ve barely touched your food.”

“Sorry. I’m afraid I have to go,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

“Can we come with you?” Carrie asked.

“Yes, can we?” Caitlyn added. “Please.”

Since he had no idea where he was going, Mick saw no reason they couldn’t come along. He’d take them downtown and buy them ice cream. They could play on the swings for a while. At least it would get him away from the house. And if he returned them directly to Abby’s, it was possible Megan would be there by then.